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In the Name of the Family (Hardcover)

Staff Reviews

Dunant continues the story of the Borgias began in Blood and Beauty in this fascinating story of one of the more infamous families from history. Lucrezia has left Rome for Ferrara to solidify the family’s position with a marriage to the Duke’s son, Alfonso d’Este. Say what you will about Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, but he loved his children and saw in them the potential to unite Italy. Cesare Borgia is a brilliant tactician, keeping the opposition guessing by always doing the unexpected. Niccolo Machiavelli travels from Florence to watch the fiery, unpredictable Cesare Borgia, as Florence is nervous about his intentions. Dunant follows their stories as the House of Borgia enters its final days. Lucrezia must skirmish with a father-in-law intent on control and not overly fond of Borgias. Machiavelli observes Cesare, finding inspiration for his book, The Prince. Pope Alexander VI finds his daring son slipping out of control. Fascinating reading.

— Deon Stonehouse

Description

Before the Corleones, before the Lannisters, there were the Borgias. One of history's notorious families comes to life in a captivating novel from the author of The Birth of Venus.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY COSMOPOLITAN (UK) AND THE TIMES (UK)

"In the end, what's a historical novelist's obligation to the dead? Accuracy? Empathy? Justice? Or is it only to make them live again? Dunant pays these debts with a passion that makes me want to go straight out and read all her other books."--Diana Gabaldon, The Washington Post

Bestselling novelist Sarah Dunant has long been drawn to the high drama of Renaissance Italy: power, passion, beauty, brutality, and the ties of blood. With In the Name of the Family, sheoffers a thrilling exploration of the House of Borgia's final years, in the company of a young diplomat named Niccol Machiavelli.

It is 1502 and Rodrigo Borgia, a self-confessed womanizer and master of political corruption, is now on the papal throne as Alexander VI. His daughter Lucrezia, aged twenty-two--already three times married and a pawn in her father's plans--is discovering her own power. And then there is his son Cesare Borgia, brilliant, ruthless, and increasingly unstable; it is his relationship with Machiavelli that gives the Florentine diplomat a master class in the dark arts of power and politics. What Machiavelli learns will go on to inform his great work of modern politics, The Prince. But while the pope rails against old age and his son's increasingly erratic behavior, it is Lucrezia who must navigate the treacherous court of Urbino, her new home, and another challenging marriage to create her own place in history.

Sarah Dunant again employs her remarkable gifts as a storyteller to bring to life the passionate men and women of the Borgia family, as well as the ever-compelling figure of Machiavelli, through whom the reader will experience one of the most fascinating--and doomed--dynasties of all time.

"Renaissance-rich details fill out the humanity of the Borgias, rendering them into the kind of relatable figures whom we would hope to discover behind the cold brilliance of The Prince."--NPR

" Dunant] has an enviable command of this complex political scene, with its shifting alliances and subtle betrayals. . . . She] has a special gift for attending to her female characters."--The New York Times

About the Author

Sarah Dunant is the author of the international bestsellers The Birth of Venus, In the Company of the Courtesan, Sacred Hearts, and Blood and Beauty, which have received major acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Her earlier novels include three Hannah Wolfe crime thrillers, as well as Snowstorms in a Hot Climate, Transgressions, and Mapping the Edge, all three of which are available in paperback from Random House. She has two daughters and lives in London and Florence.